D-backs’ Kevin Towers addresses the rumors about the San Diego GM opening

By Vince Marotta | June 25, 2014 at 4:28 pmUPDATED: June 25, 2014 at 4:28 pm

LISTEN: Kevin Towers, D-backs GM

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Before becoming the general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010, Kevin Towers held the same position with the San Diego Padres for 14 years.

And the Padres had success on Towers’ watch — advancing to the National League playoffs four times and making just the second World Series appearance in franchise history in 1998.

Things haven’t gone as well in Ron Burgundy’s favorite city since he departed. So when the club fired general manager Josh Byrnes over the weekend, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Towers landed on a list of potential replacements.

“You know what, I spent over 25 years with the organization, and I would imagine they’re trying to put two and two together,” he said. “Mike Dee, their CEO, was brought in by Larry Lucchino at about the same time I was brought into San Diego to be the general manager there.

“I still own a home there, but this is my ball club, the Arizona Diamondbacks. I work for Ken Kendrick and Derrick Hall and Tony LaRussa and I want to get this thing heading in the right direction.”

Despite his name showing up in connection to the Padres, Towers is unfazed.

“I think all these things are rumors, I don’t pay a lot of attention to it, I’m under contract,” Towers said. “My focus is on this ball club right now. I know we play them in the next two or three days. I want to beat them and I want to pass them and put them in our rear view mirror, and hopefully next, Colorado.”

There has been much speculation about Towers’ future with the Diamondbacks since LaRussa was brought in as the team’s new chief baseball officer in May. The fifth-year GM is not convinced that he won’t be part of the organization next season and beyond.

“Tony’s still evaluating what’s going on here. I’m sure that the speculation is that we in baseball operations are still under evaluation,” he said. “So if for some reason Tony thought either myself or (Kirk Gibson) or anybody within our baseball operations department wasn’t a fit going forward for him, then I could be available.

“As of right now, I think the working relationship has been good, it’s been a strong one. There has been mutual respect. But only time will tell and I think Tony will have a strong say on who he wants in his baseball department as we move forward and I think we’ll have a better idea probably in the next couple months on what decision he’s come to on that.”